Let's Talk EM! NEW PROJECT!! :D

[applestar]

It looks good
!! More than 3 but also definitely less than 4 !!
(I have to get narrower range pH papers -- currently working with the LEAST expensive [url=https://scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3021313]Edmund Scientific litmus testers[/url] that I got even cheaper on sale. )

Not bubbling today, so I think it's time. (Smells good too, toil) I'll also mix a significant amount of dry bokashi in with the new mix just to be sure of sufficient inoculation.

Verified with a commercial Organic Apple Cider Vinegar -- approx. same color, maybe a bit pinker (more acid) than the EMA.

Did a backup verification with soil tester, filling the test chamber 1/2 full with EMA to compensate for the liquid nature of substance and got a darker color than the red-orange 4.5 which is lowest that the indicator shows.

Am going ahead.

[Toil]

so how is it coming?

[applestar]

Ack! Somehow it slipped my mind that this is the 21st day!
I'll open it tomorrow and take a whiff... er... peek.

It's been worrying me, though, because I haven't felt any discernible heat coming from the bucket. The Bokashi compost is always warm when I open it to add stuff, and I was hoping to be able to feel my home made bokashi cooking (Well, I just tried touching the Bokashi composter bucket from outside and it doesn't feel warm either, so maybe it was just something that I *thought* I should be able to feel....) I didn't want to open it before it was was time and mess it up somehow (temp, air, etc.)

In a perfect world, I would've mixed up another bucketful -- I intended to, but I think I'm scattering myself (and my brains ) too thin -- it completely slipped my mind.

[Toil]

hmmm your bokashi should not be giving off heat. lactic acid fermentation doesn't do that as far as I know, or at least not enough to notice. Actually, the problem is keeping the temps up if anything. Everything about EM is way faster at 90F.

21 days is no big deal.

my brother just spoiled a batch of bran. he tried to dry it improperly and it took on a foot odor. So I'll remind you too: you have to lay it out thin on a tarp to dry it. otherwise it's like leaving a wet beach towel in your trunk in a bag.

[applestar]

Aaaand it SMELLS delicious!

... although... the top surface is a bit drier on the surface than expected, and it doesn't smell as STRONG as I expected. Still has the pickled bokashi smell, however.

At this point, should I try spraying the top with warm boiled water, or should I just concentrate on drying it? I think I'll be doing this in small batches over the next week or two -- I don't think I can dump out the entire bucket.

[Toil]

I do it in the attic...

Yeah, go ahead and do it in batches, but seal it up good. I would not spray anything on anything.

I love the smell too. It's just so nice. My "flavor notes" would be dough, distant cheese, and maybe an empty beer.

[applestar]

Thanks, toil. I'll get drying!

[applestar]

Lunacy posted a link to an interesting site here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=122859#122859

[Dixana]

I actually did read this thread before applestar......but it all pretty much goes way over my head
Can someone better explain where I get/how I would make the EM/EM1? I'm also gonna have a bugger of a time converting metric......

[Toil]

doh!

I answered on your thread. can we merge the two somehow?

[MielieMuncher]

Hiya.

I have been wondering. When the innoculant is drawn off from the bucket, can this not be used to make more Bokashi bran? From what I understand about EM's is that they multiply during the process. If this is the case then surely the innoculant must be loaded with EM's. I'll give it a bash and let you know what the outcome is.

Cheers

[The Helpful Gardener]

I'm no expert but think YEAH! Of Course!

Let us know MM!

HG

[Toil]

Hiya.

I have been wondering. When the innoculant is drawn off from the bucket, can this not be used to make more Bokashi bran? From what I understand about EM's is that they multiply during the process. If this is the case then surely the innoculant must be loaded with EM's. I'll give it a bash and let you know what the outcome is.

Cheers

yes and no. if you are after more bokashi, and that's it, then you can use the runoff. but if you are after EM, complete with PNSB, actinomycetes, yeast, and LAB in a working consortium as described by EM people, then no, the garbage runoff won't cut it according to them.

Someday, I'd love to know the truth! But I don't stress, because EM is a very cheap product that is actually useful. So my savings from using trash juice would be maybe 5-15$ a year.

[GregTraver]

This a website where you can get EM and more bokashi information. After trying a few of the do it yourself recipies around the forums, I found where I could get EM already made. That sure does simplify things a great deal. I have used it to make my own own bokashi starter, it was the easiest project I have done in a long time. This is a non profit sustanability website based in Memphis [url]https://www.agracycle.com[/url]